Taking food into the US
 

I've searched around but surprisingly I can't seem to find an answer. Am I permitted to take a loaf of bread (Hovis seeds and grains) into the US?

US Customs and Border Protection site....


https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/82

This may help - or at least direct you to someone that knows? It seems to suggest bread is ok.

Thanks Gash

What a faff those rules are. Even customs officers don't get them right. I got asked one time by customs if I was "sure I didn't have any food I was bringing in. I'd ticked no on the form. "No," I said. "Just some tea for my family." "That's food. You have to declare it."

OK, fine. Next time I ticked yes.

"What food do you have?" "Some tea." "That isn't food. Don't tick the box unless you have fresh produce, meat, cheese, that kind of thing. You should know that." :mad:

Food = anything edible. For tea, tick the box to err on the side of caution and provide explanation if asked.

My response, yes, I am bringing in tea, and toffee.

No - no- it is a big no-no. My wife has been stopped twice now and reprimanded - 1st time was for an apple (it contains seeds) even though they (the airline) gave it her on the plane. She did not want to eat it on the plane but did not want to waste it either. The 2nd time was a loaf of bread. They really DO NOT like any food stuff of this nature or other brought into the US. They made aa note too.The Customs guy said - mm- last time you bought an apple in. So it looks like they document it too.

I've had no problem with chocolate candy, cookies, croissants, etc. I check yes on the form and write in what the food is. They might ask if I have any other food, but no big deal.

However, any fruit, vegetables, meat, cheese, etc. can be a very big deal and lead to a big fine if caught. Sometimes these items are inspected and approved, such as tulip bulbs and flowers from Holland, but the risk to agriculture and health could be nontrivial from some food products. Please don't try to do it. (BYW, Australia is much more strict about this than the USA.)

I never declare, whether I have food or not. It slows down my getaway dramatically. But one very rare time at LAX they searched my laptop bag and I had a banana from the flight in there. They just smiled and binned it. No fines or anything.

Wasn't there a Monty Python sketch about a man armed with a banana?

You were lucky. They could have been really nasty.

After a recent SIN-LAX flight, they seemed to send every passenger from our plane to secondary agricultural screening which meant standing in line for over an hour to have everything Xrayed. That was the day I finally decided to apply for GE even though my home airport doesn't yet have GE kiosks.

I do not remember Monty Python and the banana, but there was a thread on FT about the FA who stole a banana from the DL FC snack basket. Search for banana bandit.

I found it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piWCBOsJr-w

How to defend yourself against a man armed with a banana. :)

I had some snack-type food on me when we flew to SFO in September. Had a 30 second conversation with the customs guys who said it was fine. Easier to declare and get them to check.

I have brought bread, chocolate, and banana with me. And I always bring macaroons always. The place I stay at expect them and not ONE box but usually 5 big boxes. Hold them in my carry on. Never have I been stopped. Maybe I should count my lucky stars.

I can understand apples, the seeds could planted. I will post here if I get stopped for the macaroon. And I never declare that I have a food item, forget that I really do. Oooops.

Sometimes officers just want to take advantage of you.. As always..

I've been stopped and they confiscated a bottle of wine from my luggage claiming that it was not legal to bring bottled wine into the US.. I'm pretty sure they were just thirsty..

We always declare 5kg of chocolate candy - so far nobody has blinked at it. ;)

I do not bring other foodstuffs across borders, however tempting it might be.

Is it really necessary? :td:

I flew into Miami once. I'd had a banana in my bag, which I'd eaten before departure from heathrow.

At a very full baggage hall a nice little doggie was let loose and ran around sniffing everything enthusiastically. He decided to sit at my bag and his uniformed attendant strode over to speak to me.

Around 1,000 faces were all staring in my direction thinking it was a drugs bust!!:eek: